Zalmon Marcola "Zollie" Volchok (September 22, 1916 – February 26, 2012) was the general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics of the National Basketball Association.
Volchok was born in Salem, Oregon and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1939. [1] His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. Volchok served in the United States Navy during World War II. [2] In the early 1950s, he started a film distribution company in Seattle that later became Northwest Releasing, a booking company for theatrical shows, musical performances (such as The Beatles' first Seattle appearance in 1964, The Rat Pack, Bill Cosby, and Elvis Presley) and closed-circuit broadcasts of athletic contests. [2]
Volchok's success with Northwest Releasing led SuperSonics owner Sam Schulman to offer him a position as general manager of the team. Volchok concentrated on marketing and promoting the SuperSonics, bringing live and recorded music into the Seattle Center Coliseum, creating halftime shows, and introducing kids' nights, ladies' nights, and seniors' nights. [2]
Volchok was manager when the SuperSonics won the NBA championship in 1979 [3] and won the 1983 NBA Executive of the Year Award. [4] In 1983, Volchok's involvement with the SuperSonics ended when Schulman sold it. [2]
Volchok died in 2012 of pneumonia at the age of 95. [1]
He has multiple great grand children including Leo Volchok, Benjamin Volchok, Isabella Volchok, Sam Volchok and Joshua Volchok.
References
- ^ a b Allen, Percy (February 28, 2012). "Former Sonics GM Zollie Volchok dies at 95". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Weber, Bruce (March 2, 2012). "Zollie Volchok, an N.B.A. Showman, Is Dead at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ "Sonics 1979 Championship". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
- ^ "Association for Professional Basketball Research". Archived from the original on September 12, 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2007.
External links
- Kelley, Steve (February 28, 2012). "Former Sonics general manager Zollie Volchok loved life and people". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- Perez, Elida S. (March 20, 2012). "Zollie's Gang leader dies". Statesman Journal. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
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- 1916 births
- 2012 deaths
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- Jewish American basketball people
- Deaths from pneumonia in the United States
- Seattle SuperSonics executives
- Seattle SuperSonics general managers
- Basketball people from Oregon
- University of Oregon alumni
- United States Navy personnel of World War II
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century American people
- Jews from Oregon
- People from Salem, Oregon
- Jewish American sports executives and administrators
- American basketball biography, 1910s birth stubs